Powerful Natural Sweetener You Probably Know Nothing About

A West African berry called Synsepalum dulcificum, only slightly better known as the miracle fruit, has a powerful natural property:

Anything you consume for about an hour after eating one tastes sweet, even substances as diverse as goat cheese and rich stout beer.

A protein in the miracle fruit binds to a patient's taste buds, altering the tongue's sweet receptors so they activate when more sour foods are eaten. Experiments intended to genetically engineer the properties of the miracle fruit have largely failed.

The miracle fruit is a bit better known in Japan, as it's sold in freeze-dried, canned and tablet forms there. The movement has spread somewhat stateside, with a modest number of American growers selling cutting and seeds so folks can grow their own plants, as the berries are highly perishable.

With all the concerns about completely unnatural sweeteners like Splenda, you may want to learn more about this amazing berry.

I found it very interesting that when a pair of entrepreneurs tried to create a powder and tablet based on this natural fruit called miraculin in 1974, the FDA ruled it was a food additive, requiring years of testing that very effectively scuttled any commercial use of it. No surprise, considering that was the same year the agency approved the dangerous, artificial sweetener aspartame.

The same thing has happened to a number of other natural sweeteners, such as Stevia. The FDA tends to take the bizarre view of calling time-tested natural products dangerous until proven otherwise, and untried artificial sweeteners safe until shown to be deadly.

This becomes a little less surprising when you learn who pays the FDA's bills. They're in the pocket of big business, and the makers of artificial sweeteners don't want competition.

Sad but true.

You can be assured if this natural sweetener starts to catch on, the FDA will find some lame excuse to ban it so that it will not compete with artificial sweeteners.

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Disclaimer: The entire contents of this website are based upon the opinions of Dr. Mercola, unless otherwise noted. Individual articles are based upon the opinions of the respective author, who retains copyright as marked. The information on this website is not intended to replace a one-on-one relationship with a qualified health care professional and is not intended as medical advice. It is intended as a sharing of knowledge and information from the research and experience of Dr. Mercola and his community. Dr. Mercola encourages you to make your own health care decisions based upon your research and in partnership with a qualified health care professional. If you are pregnant, nursing, taking medication, or have a medical condition, consult your health care professional before using products based on this content.

If you want to use an article on your site please click here. This content may be copied in full, with copyright, contact, creation and information intact, without specific permission, when used only in a not-for-profit format. If any other use is desired, permission in writing from Dr. Mercola is required.